"Okay, I'll come aboard and chat with you. It's been a long time since I've seen you. A few days ago, a few of us were drinking together and we were talking about you! I didn't expect to run into you at sea today. Wait a moment, I'll tell the old guys on those two boats."
Chen Hong saw Uncle Lu shouting and gesturing at the other two boats. Soon, all three boats slowly approached Chen Hong's boat. Once they were at a safe distance, they laid a long plank across the water and boarded Chen Hong's fishing boat.
Chen Hong had prepared a small square table and several small stools in advance. There were also teacups and tea mugs on the boat, and hot water in the thermos. The tea leaves were picked from the mountain.
Once everyone was on the boat, Chen Hong realized she recognized them all. One was Uncle Yang, Uncle Lu's neighbor, and the other was Uncle Li, Uncle Lu's cousin.
Once they were on the boat, everyone on board went off to find fishing spots in the surrounding area. The three men sat on the stools Chen Hong had prepared and accepted the teacups she offered.
After taking a sip of tea, they chatted. "Girl, you've kept this boat so clean and tidy. It seems women are really something; they always keep things neat and tidy wherever they go," Uncle Lu said, praising them first.
Uncle Yang got up and looked at the fish hold: "Oh my god, you two come and take a look! Chen Hong's hold is about to overflow! How long have you been fishing? How did you catch so many fish?"
Old Lu and his cousin crowded around to take a look: "Oh my goodness, did you catch all of these? The three of us combined can't catch as many fish as you! Apart from these three boxes of mackerel, these are all big, live fish. How come there isn't a single small fish?"
Chen Hong said with a smile, "I released all the smaller fish and used the smaller ones as bait. I only kept these better ones."
All three of them said, "There's no comparison. On my boat, the three of us only caught about 100 jin of fish, and I still think I had a pretty good catch today. Compared to you, all three of our boats combined couldn't compare to yours alone!"
Old Lu even shamelessly asked Chen Hong, "Girl, do you have any secrets? Can you tell me?"
"I don't have any special tricks. If I were to say what makes me different from others, it would be that I'm more willing to spend money on equipment. I have two electric reels and two sea fishing rods on my boat, and the hand-casting rods I bought are good ones that cost almost 2,000 yuan each."
Also, I sail far away and don't like to gather with people.
After listening to Chen Hong's words, he looked at Chen Hong's fishing rod.
The three of them looked at each other. Old Lu said, "My two fishing rods only cost a little over 1,000 yuan. Last time one broke, and your aunt nagged me for a whole day before she finally bought me a new one."
That new one looks even worse quality to me, probably worth no more than 500 yuan, and your aunt is still really upset about it. Your fishing rod looks great, how much did you pay for it?"
Chen Hong glanced at the fishing rod in Lao Lu's hand: "Uncle, you have a good eye. The one you're holding is the best on my boat. The carbon rod costs 4,000, the electric reel costs over 3,000, and the whole set, not counting the fishing line and hooks, costs over 7,000."
The set Uncle Li had was cheaper; the fishing rod and reel together cost around 5000 yuan. The cheapest was the hand-casting rod Uncle Yang used; the rod and spinning reel together cost less than 3000 yuan.
Upon hearing Chen Hong's words, Lao Lu trembled in fright and quickly gripped the fishing rod tightly, fearing that he would fall into the sea if he let go.
"These three fishing rods alone cost you a lot of money, that's too expensive! Not to mention your aunt, even I wouldn't be willing to spend that much money to buy them!"
As they were talking, Uncle Yang flicked his fishing rod and a fish took the bait. The old fisherman's fishing skills were absolutely amazing. In seven or eight minutes, Uncle Yang caught a green grouper weighing more than 6 pounds.
Old Lu and his cousin surrounded him, watching him fight the fish below until the grouper surfaced. Only then did Old Lu hand the fishing rod to Chen Hong and pick up the landing net to help scoop the fish onto the deck.
Looking at the large grouper, the three uncles were very excited: "We caught a big fish while chatting. This is great. This fish is worth more than 300 yuan. If we can catch five or six like this a day, we will make a lot of money. I haven't caught such a good fish in more than half a month."
Old Yang, however, touched the fishing rod excitedly and said, "I'll buy one like this when I get back. It's much better than mine. I would have had a hard time catching this fish with my rod. Groupers are so strong and fierce, but this rod makes catching them so much easier."
Chen Hong, where did you buy it? Send me the address. I can't afford anything too expensive, but around 3000 yuan is manageable if I grit my teeth. At worst, I can stop drinking for six months and save the money for a fishing rod.
Uncle Li stepped forward, took the rod, and tried it out: "It feels great, it must be a carbon fiber rod!"
He took a few sea silkworms from the bucket, hooked them onto the fishing line, and gracefully cast them into the sea, adjusting the length of the fishing line underwater: "Chen Hong, how many meters down are there fish?"
“Uncle Li, I only lay out 17 or 18 meters of line. Any longer and it’s easy to get snagged. There’s a big ditch below, and the water in front of you is a little over 20 meters deep.”
As they talked, the fishing line had already been lowered to 18 meters. It was Uncle Li's first time fishing at this spot, and he was unsure of himself. Just to be on the safe side, he turned the spinning reel and reeled in another meter of fishing line.
As soon as he locked the rod and released the tension, his fishing rod stirred. Uncle Li paused briefly, then immediately lifted the rod to set the hook, knowing he had a fish in his hand just by feeling it.
While dealing with the fish on the seabed, he said to everyone, "Something feels off. It looks like a grouper or a sea bass. It's quite heavy, probably weighing close to 20 pounds. It seems to be a big one. Cousin, come and help me."
Uncle Li vigorously spun the spinning reel, pausing occasionally to wait for the next round of struggling and thrashing of the gills before pulling the rod to break the rhythm. It took him five minutes to reel in the 2-meter fishing line.
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